tories are 10 t in their memorie omewhere and a
lot of it is even econd -hand. It's a shame .
When I tarted thinking about writing a book, I
thought I'd get a photographer and go from one
company to t he next and t hey'd have orne huge
ware house orne where or orne phy ical t hing of t he
game where I could ju t go down t he line and take
picture. I wa in for a hock .
It didn't happen that way. Bally had a fire many
year ago t hat de troyed t heir pre-World War II
records . Other only had list. It was hard. It wa a
larger undertaking t ha n I ever imagined.
PLA Y METER: Be ides operators and people in
the industry, who else do you expect t he book to
appeal to?
SHARPE: In terms of its format, I t hink we're
going to find a great enthusiasm with artists and
graphic people. I don't really think the industry
realize the extent to which its artwork ha affected
the public. I don't t hink a nyone has really scratched
the urface on that point.
Art ha evolved along with the pinball machine .
And for any given period when pinball ha been in
exi tence, it has reflected what's been going on in
ociety at large in term of art. You have games that
either look urreal or very realistic or comic bookish.
By concentrating on grap hics a nd using as much
color a we can, we're going to appeal to t he artistic
community. I t hink we' ll also appeal to the players
and a lot of people who are goi ng to want to just see
the book becau e it' Americana in its true sen e o-It'
an American industry totally from beginning to end,
no matter the European influence. There will be
omething for everyone.
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14
PLA Y METER: Do the book follow the technical
advanc of the indu try?
SHARPE: I tried to follow it from a game that wa
patented in the 1870' all the way through to th e
future. I al 0 try to point out that pinball i unique in
it field -- that it' not an arcade piece, a huff! alley
or a video game.
Th amazing t hin g i that through all the
negativity pinball has endur d, it ha remained
popular and continued to improve technologically and
to keep pac
with th
ociological impact of
advancing technology .
PLAY METER: The game ha kept up with th
player?
SHARPE: We had impler ta te back in the '30's ,
but the de ign and layout of the game today r flect
what t he player want. You have many more
killfull, tal nted player today, which mean you
have feature today that might not have been
popular 20 year ago. Today' player doe n't want a
toy; he want omething with ophi ticated logic to it
and pinball machine have that.
PLA Y METER: What make a good game good or
a bad gam bad?
SHARPE: Ummm, I gue player ido yncraci s.
What make a game more ucce ful on the Wet
coast than on the Ea t coa t? I don't think you can
ay that a particular game i an all -out dud. Some do
better in orne area than in other area. It'
hit -and -mis . It'
ort of like the automobil e
industry; you're trying to create a new demand
within a player to ay,"Y ,I like that feature."
PLA Y METER: 0 you think the manufactur r
k ep in tep with player' intere t , enthu ia m and
kill?
HARPE: I think in a lot of way they're keepin g
pace and in a lot of way the manufactur r are way
ahead of the play r . T her are many kill player in
the world, but it' till a mall audience. Where do
you find your mo t killful player? In college town .
For them it' not 0 much a novelty and a
preoccupation a it i a way of life.
PLA Y METER: What are some of the mo t
challenging game you've played?
SHARPE: On American table , I can't really ay
becau e a game that may b challenging today may
bore me tomorrow depending on my mood.
The game I played in pain were perhap th e
mo t challenging becau e the lant of th play field i
about even and a half inches from top to bottom ,
which make for a very fa t game.
PLAY METER: Don't you think they ought to
tandardize the lant of th e playfield?
SHARPE: I got an intere ting an wer to that
when I a ked it in pain. For them to play pinball th e
way w normally play i boring. They expect
omething uper -fa t.
PLAY METER: You're back to tho e ido yncracie
you talked of earlier.
SHARPE: Exactly . Maybe it' the graphic,
maybe it' difference in the player. I don't know of
any gam that wa univer ally acceptable under
everyone' thinking. In the older day, you had
larger run, like in the ca e of Rock -Ola' World
erie which ran 54,000. Jig aw before it wa even
more acceptabl .
You know Hrry William ' Contact wa n't really